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Wales hospital makes stroke treatment available round-the-clock

Doctors at Wales' largest hospital are now trialling a new stroke treatment round-the-clock.

New clot-busting drugs have been in use at the Cardiff University Hospital of Wales for some months, but previous they were only available during the day because a specialist had to be on hand, the BBC reports.

However, the facility is now administering the new medicine at any time, night or day, in a bid to provide anyone who has a stroke with the same opportunities for recovery.

Consultant physician Dr Hamsaraj Shetty told the news provider that clot-busting drugs significantly increase the person's chance of making a full recovery.

"This is a proven treatment. Patients who receive the clot busting drugs are likely to have a big impact in terms of reducing their chances of disability after a stroke," he said.

The Stroke Association estimates that someone in the UK has a stroke every five minutes, equating to more than 150,000 cases each year.